LG New 4K Monitor Review - 27UP600-W with DisplayHDR 400
Hi, this is my first time to join and post an article here. I have got a new monitor and I would like to simple review it. So, let's see how this monitor is good or bad.
Key Features
- DCI-P3 95%
- VESA DisplayHDR 400
- AMD FreeSync™
- 27” UHD (3840 x 2160) IPS Display
- 3-Side Virtually Borderless Display
According to LG official website listed, it is a 27" sized display and offers a 3840 x 2160 Ultra HD ("4K") resolution IPS technology panel (BOE MV270QUM-N51). Also, it has a 3-side borderless design, VESA DisplayHDR 400 and 95% of DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage.
Specifications
- Size: 27
- Panel: BOE MV270QUM-N51（Advanced Super Dimension Switch）IPS-type LCD
- Resolution: 3840 x 2160
- Depth: 10 bits（8 bits + FRC）
- Backlight: WLED
- Brightness: 400 cd/m²
- Contrast: 1200 : 1
- View Angles: 178º horizontal, 178º vertical
Design and Connectivity
Actually, I am not a professional photographer. Therefore, I borrowed images from LG official website. As pictures shown, the stand is very limited on this model with only a basic tilt adjustment available.
For connectivity there are 2x HDMI 2.0, 1x DisplayPort 1.2 and a headphone output connection available. There are no USB ports and built-in speakers on this model.
Picture Modes
| Mode | Colour Temperatures |
|---|---|
| Custom | 6545K |
| Vivid | 7037K |
| HDR | 6585K |
| Reader | 4912K |
| Cinema | 6431K |
| FPS | 6994K |
| RTS | 6784K |
| sRGB | 6931K |
| DCI-P3 | 6363K |
27UP600 provides several picture modes for user. The colour temperatures of most picture modes are between 6393K and 7037K. I found that the colour temperatures of cinema, custom and HDR are very close to 6500K ( the temperature of daylight ). They are 6431K, 6545K and 6585K. However, I noticed that the colour temperatures of reader and vivid modes are 4912K and 7037K, far beyond the temperature of daylight. Oddly, the colour temperatures of sRGB and DCI-P3 are not perfect, they are 6931K and 6363K .
Gamma Modes
| Mode | Gamma |
|---|---|
| 1 | 2.10 |
| 2 | 2.14 |
| 3 | 2.50 |
| 4 | 2.26 |
This monitor has 4 levels of gamma settings. Among them, mode 2 and 4 are the closest to Gamma 2.2, which are 2.14 and 2.26 respectively. Additionally, the value of mode 3 is 2.50, which is closer to the standard use in the fields of digital video and audio entertainment.
Default performance
- Gamma: 2.16
- Colour Temperatures: 6545K
- Average dE: 4.7
- Maximum dE : 6.0
Measuring with DisplayCal + i1 Display Pro, I found that the default setup of this monitor is poor. It gives Delta-E average of 4.7 ( max of 6.0 ). Luckily, the value of gamma was measured and recorded 2.16, which is close to Gamma 2.2 and the colour temperatures are close to 6500K.
Targets for these tests are as follows:
- Gamma - I aim for 2.2 which is the default for computer monitors
- Colour temperature / white point - I aim for 6500k which is the temperature of daylight
- Luminance - I aim for 120 cd/m2, which is the recommended luminance for LCD monitors in normal lighting conditions
- dE average / maximum - I aim for as low as possible. If average DeltaE >3, the colour displayed is significantly different from the theoretical one, meaning that the difference will be perceptible to the viewer. If average DeltaE <2, there remains a slight difference, but it is barely undetectable. If average DeltaE < 1, the colour fidelity is excellent.
Calibration Settings
I used the X-rite i1 Display Pro combined with the DisplayCAL software to achieve results and reports. Also, the calibration settings are as follows:
- 200 cd/m² - 38
- 160 cd/m² - 26
- 140 cd/m² - 22
- 120 cd/m² - 17
- 100 cd/m² - 13
- 80 cd/m² - 6
- Contrast - 70
- Gamma - Mode 2
- Picture Mode - Custom
- Colour Temp - Custom
- Red - 43
- Green - 50
- Blue - 42
Calibration Results
- Gamma: 2.20 ( 0% deviation )
- Luminance: 119.3 cd/m²
- Colour Temperatures: 6521K
- Average dE: 0.15
- Maximum dE : 1.11
The accurate default gamma of 2.2 was corrected, leaving 0% deviance after calibration, while the white point was also now corrected to 6521k which was great news. Colour accuracy of the resulting profile was excellent, with dE average of 0.15 and maximum of 1.11. DisplayCAL would consider colour fidelity to be very good overall.
Colour Gamut Volume and Coverage
| Colour Space | Gamut Volume | Gamut Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| sRGB | 142.1% | 99.8% |
| Adobe RGB | 97.3% | 87.4% |
| DCI-P3 | 100% | 94.0% |
The screen has a wide colour gamut backlight with a spec listed of 95% DCI-P3 coverage. I measured a very slight under-coverage of sRGB at 99.8% but nothing to worry about. It also covers 94.0% of the DCI-P3 space which is very good and a little lower the spec.
Panel Uniformity
Luminance uniformity of the panel was not very good, with the upper centre ( -11% ), lower left ( -12% ) and right ( -14% ) regions of the screen showing the most deviance from our centrally calibrated point. The most extreme case is in the lower right corner (-14%). It means this monitor is OK for normal use, but it may not be adequately suitable for professional use.
Conclusion
Although the panel uniformity is not very good, but most users may not be noticed during the period of their daily use. Meanwhile, it costs only $429.99, lower than other screens that have similar specifications. Therefore, I personally satisfied with this screen and I will recommend it to users who may want to spend less money for 95% DCI-P3 and VESA DisplayHDR 400 monitors.
Pros
- 95% DCI-P3
- VESA DisplayHDR 400
- AMD FreeSync™
- Good colour accuracy after calibration
Cons
- Poor out-of-box colour accuracy
- Poor panel uniformity
- Limited stand